


Finding Myself Again

by HappGorl



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: #giveMarihugs2020, (Yummm), Alfred Knows All, Alya’s a bitch, Best Big Bro Jason Todd, Bruce Wayne is a Good Parent, Crossover, Damian Wayne is Bad at Feelings, Damian Wayne is Robin, Dick Greyson is Nightwing, F/F, F/M, Jason Todd is Red Hood, Jason is a little shit, Marinette deserves better, Nightmares, Panic Attacks, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Slow Burn, Tim Drake Snoops, Tim Drake is Red Robin, Time zones are weird, and Lila’s scared, but don’t we all know that?, first multi chapter fic, she also needs a hug
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-02
Updated: 2020-11-29
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:41:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 14,840
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24506347
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HappGorl/pseuds/HappGorl
Summary: After an accident occurs in Paris, and Marinette feels as if it’s her fault, she calls her Grandmother, who in turn, gives her the contact information of Alfred Pennyworth.With a week to plan her stay in Gotham with the Wayne’s, she finds herself wondering, what does Gotham have that I haven’t seen before? A lot, and then a lot more.
Relationships: Chloé Bourgeois/Kagami Tsurugi, Dick Grayson/Koriand'r, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug/Damian Wayne, Sabine Cheng/Tom Dupain, Selina Kyle/Bruce Wayne
Comments: 182
Kudos: 932





	1. The Waiting Game

**Author's Note:**

> I know this isn’t the sequel to Dimmed Sunshine (but I AM working on it, it just turned out far longer then I thought it would...), but I’ve had this story in my WIPs for a while, so here.

“I’m done here, Maman. I can’t be here anymore.” Marinette slumps at their kitchen table, wincing when she sets her left hand onto the counter top. 

“But, Mari, what about your friends? What about MDC?” Marinette’s mother looks up at her, concerned. “You can’t leave everything behind because of a small fi-” Marinette cuts her off. 

“Small fight? You see this, Maman?” She gestures to herself, to her black eye, split lip. To her multiple bruises and sprains. “My _friends_ did this to me.” Her mother pales. “As for MDC? I have an email, a website and a bank account. I can do appointments online.”

“But where would you go?” Tom, her father, asks. “Everybody we know is in Paris.”

“Maybe,” Marinette slides a small packet onto the table. “Maybe not. I talked to Grandmere and she immediately suggested I go to Alfred Pennyworth in the States. Who is in Gotham. I contacted him last week and he said I could stay with him and his ‘Master’, as long as I finish my education at Gotham Academy.”

Sabine flips through the packet and slowly skims through the information. “Mari. Gotham is one of the most crime-ridden cities in the entirety of _North America_.” She looks up at her daughter. “You can’t possibly be going _there_.” Even her father next to her looks ready to jump up and prevent her from going. But they can’t. Marinette’s eighteenth birthday was two and a half months ago. 

“Yes, Maman. Thank goodness for all those extra self defense classes with Master Fu before he moved, right?” She chuckles weakly. Lie. Those were guardian training. Life as Ladybug provided enough self defense training as is, but her parents didn’t need to know that. The coverup was developed by Master Fu himself, for her reflexes and strength was starting to bleed through into her civilian life, and people would start asking questions.

Marinette stands up, leaving her parents to review the packet of information for themselves. She pauses before the stairs, her hand on the railing, and calls over her shoulder. “Besides. It doesn’t matter whether you and Papa agree or not. My flight over is scheduled to leave for tomorrow morning at nine.” With that, she climbs up the steps and into her room to finish packing. 

* * *

**Meanwhile in Gotham…**

Tim sips his coffee, reviewing all the information he gathered in the past week. 

1- Someone was staying at the Manor, for what seems like more than the usual couple of days. When he snuck into the room Alfred was preparing, it was basically redone. And the way room was decorated led to him thinking that

2- This person is a girl. Alfred placed the visitor- hopefully not another adoptee- in Steph’s old room, when she went through her pink phase. Back then, it was a literal pink _explosion_ , but Alfred changed the carpet, curtains, comforter into a dark Navy and the furniture into a light brown. The only thing kept the same was the light pink walls. But one thing certainly stood out to him. 

3- In the far corner was a workstation with both a mannequin and the best of the best sewing supplies (it was always the top model for the Wayne’s, no matter what it was). Could this _girl_ be MDC? Leave it up to Gotham’s (maybe even the world’s) greatest detective (with Tim following in a close second) to find the most sought-out designer, that happens to be all the boy’s (except Damian- he always said he didn’t care for that crap) and girl’s favorite designer? But there’s two things that the second best detective in Gotham:

4- Neither Alfred or Bruce told them about this new person. Why keep it a secret? Why torture Tim with more sleepless nights to try and solve this mystery? Just- why?

And 5- From the time Alfred started and finished the room, Tim can safely predict that this new female addition would be arriving within the next couple of days. Alfred always finishes preparing the room a day or two in advance. 

So all of this information caused Tim to be awake at 2am on a _Monday_ (though, he’d probably be awake solving some other mystery anyway). But still, Tim smirks over his favorite coffee mug, staring at his computer for all of one reason- in the next couple of days, chaos is going to descend upon the Manor. And frankly, he would enjoy every second of it. 


	2. An Egg-cellent Surprise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here’s chapter two and the second update for this week! As of right now, I have no idea when’s the next time I’m going to update (just know that’s it’s going to be sometime next week) because I’m trying to write ahead, but a lot of my attention went to writing part two of The Death of Sunshine. 
> 
> Anyway! Enjoy the pun and idiot Jason.

“Are you sure I’m doing the right thing?” Marinette calls out to her Kwami’s after securely shutting the door. “With what happened to Adrien…” she looks up at the two floating orbs, fiddling with the ring on her necklace. “I don’t want that to happen to anyone else.” She looks down at the phone on her desk. 

_ Just text me when you're home, safe. Please. _

“It’s okay, Kitten. Adrien wasn’t the… best fit for the black cat miraculous.” Plagg floats idly in front of her, before landing on her head. “What happened to Adrien wasn’t your fault. All his bad luck caught up to him, because he wasn’t as balanced as you are. In order for Ladybug and Black Cat to be compatible, they have to be balanced within themselves.” The cat plays with a strand of Mari’s hair. “You have to be able to wield both.”

Marinette sits on her chaise, processing the words spoken with scrunched brows. “So what you’re saying is that Adrien was only compatible with the ring and not the earrings?” Tikki nods, and Marinette runs a hand over her face. “And you're also saying that I’m able to wield both of them?” More nods. Suddenly, she stands up, startling the kwami in her hair. “I’ll figure this out  _ later _ . But I have to finish packing now.”

Marinette picks up her phone from the desk, unlocks it, and checks her alarm to confirm she set one for 6:30 the following morning, and then another for 7:30. She swipes out of the screen, but doesn’t turn it off. Her thumb hovers over the Messages app for a minute before she deftly turns her phone off, and tosses it onto her chaise. 

_ There’s no time for a mental breakdown right now. I have to finish packing.  _

**(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:・ﾟ✧  
  
**

“Sugarcube, do you know the real reason Kitten is going to Gotham? Why so far away?” Plagg whispers to Tikki. 

Tikki’s silent for a moment, watching her chosen rush around her room to finish some last minute packing, before answering. “I think… I think she blames herself for what happened to Adrien. I think she wants to get away from all the memories of him and them together, and only come back for the occasional Akuma.” She pauses and turns to Plagg, hope sparking in her eyes. “Why Gotham? Why travel across the world and to a completely different continent? Plagg. Do you think that… it could happen again? So soon?”

Plagg blinks at what the other kwami is referring to. “No. It’s too soon. There’s one every millennium. It’s only been- what? Six or seven centuries since the last one? But…” he gazes sadly at the Guardian. “Lets hope. She needs it now more than ever.” 

* * *

**Meanwhile in Gotham...** ****

“Who the  _ fuck _ decided that microwaving an egg was a good idea?” Stephanie yells from the kitchen. 

Damian replies from the table, not looking up from his book. “It was probably Todd, thinking that it’ll come out scrambled.” 

“Hey!” Jason protests. “It could’ve been Replacement! He probably did it in the middle of the night while practically sleeping walking.”

“Wrong.” Tim yawns, looking up from his computer. “I was in the office all last night working on paperwork.”

“Then Dick! He could’ve don-”

“Incorrect, you douchebag.” Dick interrupts him as he walks into the room. “I have no idea what you're blaming me for, but for whatever it is this time, I was with Kor’i and Mar’i. All night.” Jason blunders for a second, trying to put the blame on someone else, and failing. Steph walks into the room and leans against the wall. 

“So how  _ did _ you get the bright idea to microwave an egg?” Jason huffs something and glares down at the table. “What was that?”

Jason looks up with narrowed eyes and says through clenched teeth, “Demon a Spawn was right. 

“Wait,” Barbra speaks up from her spot on the couch. “You nuked an egg in the microwave, you  _ see _ it explode, and then you walk away like nothing happened instead of cleaning it up like a decent person? But why didn’t you use the stove? I’m  _ pretty _ sure you’re the last one except Damian that is still able to actually cook stuff in the kitchen.” Jason grimaces. 

“No. Alfred took the stove right away from me, so all I can use is the microwave and the toaster.” Dick snorts and Jason snaps at him. “You’re one to laugh. You're not even allowed in the kitchen in general.”

Steph smirks. “Well, Jason, if you want to keep your microwave rights, you better go clean the microwave before Alfred finds out.” The blood rushes from his face, and Jason sprints out of the room.


	3. All Knowing Eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sabine sits her daughter down for a talk before she leaves for her flight, and a Alfred knows everything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here’s chapter 3! I finished writing chapter 5 last night, and it’s l o n g. I’ve included a photo to go with this chapter, but unfortunately it is not loading. If you really wanT to see the picture, it’s up on my Instagram (@HappGorl) so check it out it, along with a couple of other Batfam posts. Please enjoy and feedback most definitely welcome!

Beeping. 

Marinette flips onto her stomach with a loud groan and covers her head with a pillow. And yet, it continues to get louder. Louder.  _ Louder _ . 

“Marinette!” Her father yells from downstairs. “Turn that thing off and come eat!” She groans again and sits up, shivering when the chilly air grazes her skin. She looks around the room, trying to both blink sleep from her gaze and pinpoint the source of that  _ horrendous _ noise. She finally spots her phone laying on her desk connected to its charger. 

_ ‘One of the kwami’s must’ve put it on,’ _ she thinks absentmindedly as she stumbles down from her loft bed. She groggily throws on a pair of dark grey yoga pants trimmed with a green band, a red crop top with a yellow Robin symbol, and tugs on a pair of sturdy black black combat boots. Before leaving her room, she makes sure the Miracle Box is tucked into the secret compartment in her main suitcase, drags all three next to her door and descends the stairs to the living room. 

The warm aroma of breakfast overtakes Marinette’s senses, making her wake up a bit and practically glides toward the smell. Before she can enter the kitchen and get a cup of much needed coffee, her mother intercepts her and pulls her to the table. When they get to the table, he mother pulls a seat out, sits down and gestures to the seat across from her. 

“Sit down, Mari. There’s much to be discussed before your father is done making breakfast.” Marinette pulls out the chair, and gingerly sits down. After she’s sitting, her mother continues to speak. “Your father and I are quite upset that you didn’t tell us that you were going to stay with Alfred until last night.” Marinette opens her mouth to explain, but Sabine continues. “Yes, you're eighteen, and therefore an adult. But are you  _ sure _ going to America- a completely different continent- would help? You said that you're going to attend Gotham Academy, but don’t you think it’s too late to transfer?”

“Yes and no, Maman. Alfred said not to worry about papers and such because Bruce will handle it.” She looks down at the table. “I just  _ can’t  _ stay in Paris anymore. The Akuma attacks are becoming more sparse, yes, but they’re also becoming more lethal. Chat Noir hasn’t been showing up to battles and god only knows that reason-”  _ I do _ . “-and I have practically  _ nothing _ here now. Sure, I have you and Papa and Jagged, along with Kagami, Luka and Chloe but… no on-” her voice cracks. “No one else.” Tears threaten to spill over but she forces them away and looks up. “That’s why I need to go. I need to be able to  _ feel _ without having to look out for an akuma.”

The older woman gazed into her daughter’s eyes, and noticed something unsettling. On the surface, Marinette looks like this bubbly teen, ready for adult life, but her eyes… her eyes say otherwise. Her eyes say that she was already an adult. An adult that went to war and survived, only to see everyone else die. A woman who has seen everything, and then some. Definitely not the eyes of a teenage girl on the brink of adulthood. They’re the eyes of a warrior who has nothing else to lose but her own life. 

**Meanwhile in Gotham...**

The first thing Damian noticed when he went downstairs for breakfast was that Alfred was gone. Alfred was gone, and there was a note on the table. 

_ Master Damian- _

_ I’m out running some errands for part for the day, so I won’t be at the Manor to look after things. I’m trusting you to protect the kitchen with your life, making sure no one, including Master Jason especially with the stunt he pulled with the microwave- _ Damian snorts. Oh, the blackmail has been ruined, but this is so much better. Or worse for Jason.  _ -Breakfast is on the table. Don’t worry about lunch, I should be back in time to prepare it. If not, go out and eat. Don’t not, under any circumstances, let someone make something to eat. I prefer a not-scorched kitchen to make meals in.  _

_ ~Alfred _

He places the note back onto the table, grinning, and takes a donut from the pile in the middle. “Is the world coming to an end or is Demon Spawn actually happy about something?” Damian looks up from his breakfast, and sees Jason gaping in the doorway. 

“Alas, no, the world has yet to end, but your life has.” Damian says, grinning. Tim walks into the room with Dick following closely behind. “I thought we were already passed threatening, Damian,” the still half asleep acrobat yawns. “And where’s Alfred?”

“Alfred’s out running errands for the morning. He said I’m in charge of the Manor until he gets back and that Jason is completely banned from the kitchen.” All activity stops. 

“Goddammit! Demon Spawn, you didn’t tell him right? Did anyone tell Alfred?!” Jason exclaims frantically, knocking over the freshly poured cup of coffee sitting in front of him and ignores Tim’s distressed noises over the spilt drink ( _ I could’ve drank that! Why, oh why, must this coffee be contaminated? _ ) 

“No. I didn’t even see him this morning. I think he left around 8:30. I came down about a half hour before you lot.”

Dick snorts into his bowl of cereal. “I swear to god that man has some sort of superpower. That or he doesn’t sleep. How else would he know everything?” The table goes silent, all of them thinking about the stuff they thought they got away with. 

“Shit.”


	4. Can’t be Shellfish

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Marinette gets on her flight, and Tim gets scolded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually was up until 12 last night writing chapter 6. It may or may not be one of my favorites.... Anyway, not entirely happy with this one, but it gets the story going. And angst. A lot of Angst. Also- the driver was names Javier by my friend. You’ll know when you see it ;)

The trip to the airport went fast. Faster than Marinette thought could be possible. It was impossibly easy to avoid the messages when she requested an Uber. To easy to just relax in the backseat of a strangers car, plug in headphones, and listen to Jagged’s latest album. So easy, it made her want to cry. To force herself to have a mental breakdown because _it’s her fault_ . But no. No one has to see, has to worry, for her. _Don’t be selfish_ is her new mantra. 

The kwami’s in her purse press up against her leg, as if to comfort her. A flash of annoyance bounces through her and she moves her leg away from the bag. She can’t be selfish and want comfort from others. This is her problem. No one else’s. If they’re busy worrying for her, something would happen to them. Just like Adrian. 

_No._ She pushes the thought away. I can’t be akumatized. It’ll hold off the flight, and other people need to go to Gotham for more important reasons than her. Not just to run away from her problems. 

The Uber driver pulls into the drop-off lane at the Roissy Charles de Gaulle Airport and stops in front of the doors. He throws the car into park and turns around to look at his passenger. He eyes her various injuries and braces and asks, “do you need help getting your bags, Miss. Cheng?” Marinette internally cringes at the mess up - _it makes me feel like my mother_ \- but assures the driver that she’s perfectly capable of getting her various suitcases from the trunk, yes even with her wrist brace and boot. What she didn’t say is that she has, in fact, gone through worse. Much worse. 

The man relents after several minutes of his offer being rejected, and waves to his most-polite and well mannered consumer since he started. When she’s safe with all of her luggage, and didn’t leave anything behind, he leaves the parking lot to get his next passenger. 

Marinette watches the driver, well, _drive_ away for a couple of moments, before gathering her things, and marching into the vast building. 

**Meanwhile in Gotham...**

It was lunchtime in Gotham, and everyone wanted seafood. Well, if the Wayne’s counted as ‘everyone’. 

As the time approached 12:15, the Wayne’s were sitting in the manor, waiting for Alfred to return and make lunch. 

Jason throws himself onto the couch with a groan. “Does _anyone_ know when Alfred’s coming back? I’m _starving._ ” No one in the room points out that he’s always starving. 

“Well,” Damian counters without pausing from polishing one of his many Katana, “if you didn’t decide to be such an idiot, you would still have kitchen rights. Then, you’d be able to go get food.” 

“Well,” Jason mocks Damian, “ if you weren’t such a _brat_ , you would utilize your own kitchen rights, and go make food.”

“Tt. Why would I make food for such an-” Dick cuts him off before he can finish his insult. “You know what we can do? We can order out or go out. Sure, it’s not Alfred’s cooking, but I’m craving seafood. Particularly clams.”

Damian huffs. “I guess I can go for some lobster.” Jason mutters his agreement and Dick stands up from his seat to gather the rest of the family. 

**(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:・ﾟ✧  
**

When everyone’s gathered in the main foyer thirty five minutes later (fifteen spent dragging luring Tim from his computer with the promise of a gallon of his favorite coffee (and the threat of smashing all his coffee related beverages- and anything that makes it from Damian himself)), they’re prepared to leave and go eat not Alfred’s cooking. 

Dick opens the door, and herds the group outside. He closes the door behind him, trusting the auto-lock system for once, and claps loudly to get everyone’s attention. “Okay guys. We’re going to Sally’s Seafood downtown-” Tim looks to the side, and sprints off with a yell. “Timmers! Wrong direction!” Dick yells with his hands circling his mouth to project his voice. 

“Nope!” Tim yells back, without pausing or turning around. “Alfred’s back, so I don’t have to eat _shellfish_. Alfred! Alfred, help! They’re making me part with my computer by threatening my coffee, all to go eat seafood!” Alfred stops the car smoothly in front of Tim and gets out. 

“What are they making you do, Master Tim? Eat seafood? I’m pretty sure you do whatever you want, whenever you want. I think there’s another reason why you ran up to me.” Alfred says, staring at the blinking man in front of him. 

Tim mutters “ _I swear to god, this man knows everything_ ,” causing a wry grin to appear on the man mentioned, then he straightens and boldly states, “I would like to know who’s staying with us. I know they’re female, for you remodeled Steph’s old room, but no matter how much I tried, I wasn’t able to find a name.” The other residents of the manor slowly creep closer, not saying anything, fearing that if they make noise or move suddenly, Alfred would turn to them. 

“And how, Master Tim, did you find out that information?” The old butler’s face, from far, seems confused and curious, but his eyes already seem to know the answer. 

Tim practically wilts underneath the older man’s stare. He shrinks in on himself, his head ducking down and his shoulders drawing in. “I snooped,” he mutters quietly, but still loud enough for the surrounding people to hear. 

“And what is the rule for snooping?” Tim seems to get smaller by the second. His hands fiddle with the hem of his shirt as he hesitantly replies in a small voice that people only get in front of a disapproving Alfred. “Not to do it.” Alfred hums in agreement. 

“Now, what exactly di-” he’s interrupted by one of the car’s doors opening behind him. Everyone immediately turns toward the distraction, the bystanders slightly miffed at the interruption. 

But then a small girl- no more than 5’3”- peeks her head over the door. Or tries to; she ends up having to step around the door in order to see anything. “Monsieur Alfred? Is this it?” Her brows scrunch together as her gaze lands on the group of onlookers. “And who are these?”

“Ah, you woke up. Yes, Miss. Marinette, this is where we’ll be staying. And these,” he waves his hand in the general direction of the group, “are the Wayne’s.” A spark of recognition flairs in her eyes, but is immediately replaced with anxiety. 

“Oh, oh! I’m sorry if I’m an inconvenience for you! I can leave, if you want, and go… somewhere else…” The girl- Marinette- switches over to French. “ _Of course Grandmere would send me to the Wayne's. I should’ve said_ \- _”_ She doesn’t notice Dick approaching her, but her blunder stops when he sets his hands on her shoulders. She looks up into his eyes to read his intent and scans his body language, and calms down immediately. 

_Black hair, blue eyes, carries herself as if she has a weight on her shoulders, has anxiety, may have a troubled past-_ Dick turns back to the group, keeping one hand on Marinette’s shoulder and says, “Well, Shit, guys. Bruce’s at it again.” Majority of the group groans, and there’s an audible _smack_ as Damian facepalms from the back. 


	5. Fight or Flight?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette meets the Wayne’s and Sabine plots. Should we be worried? Cause I sure as hell don’t know lmao.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! New chapter! Also- who said that it could be 90 degrees out today? Cause I sure as hell didn’t >:0

To say the flight to Gotham was uneventful would be an understatement. Sure, Marinette had to endure the screaming six month old a couple rows over and the snoring man next to her. But there was nothing a pair of headphones, a movie and a sketchbook couldn’t fix. 

This wasn’t her first international flight, either, so she knows how to drown out all the noise and focus on one particular thing. She goes to China to visit relatives every summer and every year during spring break, her grandmother takes her onto a trip. So yes, she’s been to America (specifically New York and Miami) but never Gotham. Though her Grandmother gave her Alfred’s contact information, she never actually specified how she met these people. Marinette crosses her fingers as the plane nears their destination that they aren’t part of the shady shit that her grandmother has the tendency to do. 

The intercom crackles and a hush falls over the plane. “Please buckle your seatbelts, we are going to land in approximately five minutes.” There’s a series of clicking, and after buckling her own seatbelt, she rouses the man next to her, repeats when the flight attendant had said, and lunges to the window at her left. She watches in awe as huge skyscrapers, windows parking in the sun, pass underneath them. She quickly opens her sketchbook and starts to draw a dress inspired by the buildings for her website. 

There’s a tap on her shoulder and she looks up to find that the man that was sitting next to her is now standing and smiling down at her. “The plane has landed, and they’re getting first class off now.” Marinette scrambles to shove her sketchbook into her carry-on, opting to leave her headphones hanging on her neck. After business class unboarded, the flight attendant class for coach. She files behind the guy that sat next her during the trip, and starts the slow process of entering Gotham airport. 

Because Gotham is one of the most crime-ridden city in the world, there’s a bunch more precautions and safety measures before you're even allowed to  _ enter _ the airport, even if you're unboarding a plane or not. After going through the numerous checkpoints, Marinette is allowed to get her baggage and search for the person picking her up. 

She decides to stack her things onto a cart instead of dragging all at once, for it makes it easier on both her injured wrist and ankle. She slowly walks out of the luggage pick up and into the area where nonpassengers are allowed to be. She must’ve passed at least five or six security officers on that many feet before she spots an older man with graying brown hair and kind blue eyes holding a sign with her name printed on it in neat handwriting. Marinette walks as fast as her boot allows her to, pushing the cart with her suitcases in front of her. 

“Are you Miss. Dupain-Cheng?” The man asks when she stops in front of him. 

“Please, call me Marinette. Are you Monsieur Pennyworth?” When she confirms she is who she says she is by showing him her ID, he answers with a certain sparkle in his eyes. “Please, call me Alfred. May I take your bags?” He looks over her injuries when she refuses his offer, and takes them anyway. “Who, Miss. Marinette, caused those injuries you carry?” She flushes slightly under his and straightens before answering. 

“It was my former classmates, but they didn’t mean to do it. And please, just call me Marinette.” Alfred arches a brow, very well knowing that her classmates did cause her harm on purpose, but leaves her alone. 

They approach the SUV Alfred brought and quickly load the bags in. After making sure that the bags are safely tucked into the trunk, Alfred opens the dorm behind the passenger seat and gestures for Marinette to go in. She hops into the car with a mumbles ‘thanks’ and buckles her seatbelt. Shortly after closing the door, the old butler opens the drivers door, climbs in and promptly starts the car. 

As he pulls out of the parking lot, Marinette notices the gargoyles that seem to be on every building. “Woah. The architecture here is so much different then in Paris.” Alfred smiles at her from the rearview mirror. “There’s a lot of things different here.” She smiles back and turns to look out the window, letting the hum of the engine lure her to a deep sleep. 

**~one magical time skip brought to you by a sleep deprived author~**

Marinette jerks up from where her head rests on the window, not knowing what woke her up. She looks around at her surroundings and notices that they’ve stopped in front of a  _ huge _ house that could easily be compared to the Agreste Mansion, and win. 

“-did you find out we’ll be having someone staying? Humor me, please.” Her eyes instinctively try to find where Alfred is, and finds him standing in front of the car, scolding a young man that looks to be in his early twenties. The young man seems to deflate in front of the butler as he answers. “I snooped.”

Alfred crosses his arms. “And what is the rule for snooping?” The man curls into himself even  _ more _ if possible and says in a small voice, “not to do it.” The graying brunette hums his agreement. “Now, what exactly di-” 

Marinette decides to stop the unknown man’s all familiar torture and gets out of the car. Her efforts are good, for everyone- including the big group of people watching- turn to her. Marinette tried to peek over the door, but is both too small and her wrist won’t support her weight, so she has to step around and close the door behind her. 

Her eyes dart from face to face, marking the similarities between some of the onlookers and the man in front of Alfred. A family, maybe? “Monsieur Alfred? Is this it?” She turns her gaze back to the maybe family. “And who are these?” Alfred’s face immediately warms, and he smiles at her. “Ah, you finally woke up. Yes Miss. Marinette, this is where you’ll be staying. And these,” he waves a hand at the group of people, “are the Wayne’s.” Confusion arises in her, but is overcome by recognition.  _ Holy shit- _ Marinette feels herself start to panic, but does nothing to stop it.  _ Must not be selfish, must not be selfish. _

“Oh, oh! I’m sorry if I’m an inconvenience for you! I can leave if you want, and go…”  _ must not be selfish _ , “somewhere else.” She unconsciously switches over to French I’m the middle of her panic attack.  _ “Of course Grandmere would send me to the Wayne's! I should’ve said-” _ her rambling stops when someone places their hands onto her shoulders and she remembers to breathe.

_ Must not be selfish _ . 

She looks up to see a tall man with slightly curled hair and gentle blue eyes that are a couple of shades darker then her own. For a moment, she sees him dressed in black and blue, flipping across rooftops with a certain grace that only practice can create. But as quickly as it came, the vision goes away before she can make any sense from it. 

Her breathing settles as she focuses on the weird premonition, and jumps when the tall man yells out, “well, shit, guys. Bruce’s at it again.” Again, confusion floods her when his statement is met with a series of groans and curses, and a facepalm from a boy her age with dark green eyes that stands apart from the group. 

**Meanwhile in Paris…**

The bakery is as busy as ever, but all peace is disturbed when a couple of people from a certain class barges in. 

“Where’s that little bitch!” Alya spits out venomously when she’s able to push past the customers that are lingering around the front to take their orders, and where a certain Sabine Cheng is manning the register. The bluenette coldly disregards the reporter, pissing her off even more. When the older woman returns back to her waiting customer, a blonde interrupts her in a much more polite way. 

“Sabine! Where’s Marinette? She’s late for our weekly spa treatment with Kagami!” Behind the girl stands the fencer herself with her arms crossed before her chest. 

The mother of the wanted girl sighs wearily, apologizes to the customer and excuses herself to take care of the disturbance. “Marinette left early this morning to visit a family friend in America.” Alya smirks in triumph.

“Ha! That little cunt is finally gone! After all these years, she finally learns her lesson and goes to America with her tail between her legs. I guess we should’ve beaten her up sooner cause this could’ve been solved years ago!” She turns to Lila, ignoring the furious looks on Sabine, Chloe and Kagami. Unlike her friend, Lila sees their reactions as she laughs weakly herself and tries to escape from the building, but is blocked by the afternoon regulars.

Sabine stalks out from behind the counter and approaches Alya. “You're the one who beat up my daughter.” The teenager rolls her eyes and cocks her hip to the right. 

“No. Don’t forget that there’s other people in the class, Sabine. Alix, Kim, Sabrina and Ivan were all in it too. That fucker had to stop bullying Lila, and this time it actually worked.” Sabine smiles rather frighteningly up at Alya and Lila. 

“Why thank you, dears, for telling me. Now I know who exactly to press charges against.” Both girls pale and were finally allowed out to the bakery. Sabine turns to the other two girls and sighs. She walks back behind the counter with the blonde and bluenette following her. “So Marinette didn’t tell you about her plans either?” Kagami shakes her head. “Well, she didn’t tell Tom and I until last night.” Chloé finally speaks up. 

“Well, you guys already know what I’m going to do. I’m going to fly over to America and hunt Maribugs ass down-” Sabine shuts her up with a look.

Now, Chloe, that’s not a good idea. At least no at the moment. Marinette needs some time for herself and not to deal with anything that happens in Paris. She’ll reach out when she’s ready.” Kagami frowns. 

“So what do we do now?” Sabine looks over at her daughter’s usually closed off friend, shocked at the sadness in her voice and says, “well, the only thing we  _ can _ do I wait for Marinette to heal; physically and mentally. I don’t even want to know what kind of psychological abuse that class took her through, but we need to find out if we’re going to take the proper steps of getting revenge.” The surrounding customers all shiver in unison at the icy tone the baker adopts and instantly pities the people that are either in her way and the people on the receiving end of the revenge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did say this was long, right? Probably one of the longest chapters that’s is gonna be in this story but eh. My fave chapter is up next and y’all get to see Jason being best big bro and sleep deprived Tim in all of his glory! Ah the excitement!


	6. Knightmare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette gets lost and Jason finds her and we get to see sleep deprived Tim in all his glory (well, kinda)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn’t finish writing chapter 8 last night, but Imma give you this anyway /yeets chapter/ enjoy! (also big bro Jason is best and you cannot convince me otherwise)

Marinette is confused. She’s also completely utterly lost. The Manor is huge and dark, the halls are endless mazes. How did she end up like this? Well, it’s quite simple. 

After Alfred made lunch and introduced her to the entire family, he led her to her room. He placed her between Tim- the man he was scolding earlier- and Damian- the boy her age that facepalmed- and across from Dick- the tall man that brought her down from her panic attack. So when Alfred left her to unpack, the first thing she did was hide the Miracle box and have a talk with Plagg, Kaalki and Tikki. But the first thing they told her was to sleep off her jet lag (she didn’t notice she was exhausted until they mentioned it) and that they’ll talk in the morning. And she did. For twelve hours. 

It was about 2:15 am when she woke up, a scream at the edge of her tongue. 

_ Do you wanna play a game of Chat and Bug? I’ll count to ten… _

Her hands clenched the unfamiliar sheet, and she found herself moving her hands and feet as if checking for restraints. 

_ Bugaboo, where are you~ _

Marinette’s breathing quickens as her eyes dart from shadow to shadow, looking. 

_ Gotcha _ .

She leaps from her bed, stumbling over her discarded clothing and haphazardly placed suitcases, and slams open her door. Her socked feet struggles to find traction as she slips and slides down the marble halls, running from the watching shadows. From the memories. She relies on her on her heightened senses from being Ladybug to navigate the endless turns and staircases, but in her panicked state, they seem to be failing, for she slammed into at least seven different walls. 

For what seems like forever, she’s stuck into a nightmare turned real, the one where you're always running from something but you never move. Until. Until she sees a light. Marinette slides frantically towards the light, desperate for an escape from this living hell. 

She skids to a halt in front of the beacon of light, nearly passing it with her speed but she’s able to grab onto the door jam, biting back her yelp of pain as she puts almost all her weight onto her injured wrist as she pulls herself to a stop. The bluenette slowly pushes the door open all the way and takes a step forward. 

Beyond the door is an enormous gym like room. There’s practically everything in there; weights to balance beams, swords and knives to ballet bars. And a certain Jason Todd staring at her in bewilderment from then punching bags. Marinette walks further into the room, looking around in excitement at all of the equipment and temporarily ignoring the white streaked man also in the room. That is, until he speaks. 

“Can’t sleep either?” She snorts at his awkward attempt at conversation. 

“What is sleep? No. This is actually the most sleep I’ve had since…” she shakes her head to clear the memory, even though it lingers at the back of her mind.  _ You’ve been a bad girl today, Marinette. You didn’t listen to me. Do you know what happens to girls that don’t listen? _ “Nevermind. I only get maybe five hours of sleep on a regular week. Six or seven if I’m lucky. What about yourself?” Jason lets out a low whistle. 

“Jeez. And I thought  _ Tim _ was bad. He gets maybe eight or nine hours of sleep a week. I, myself, get the biweekly night where my body just won’t slow down. So I come here.” He holds his hands out in a grand sweeping gesture to the room they’re currently inside of. He looks her over again, brows lowered and says critically, “wait. Where’s your boot and wrist brace?” She grimaces. 

“Back in my room. I really only need my wrist brace now because my ankle had only a slight sprain. My hand and wrist however… three of my fingers were dislocated and my wrist is a full sprain.” Nevermind the countless other bruises and small injuries riddling her body. “But I’ve been through worse. A lot worse.” Jason raises an eyebrow incredulously. 

“Oh yeah? Like what? Did you die and come back to life?”  _ Bad girls need to be punished. I thought you’d know that better than anyone, Marinette, with all your talk about justice.  _

“You can say that.” He blinks at her sudden change in demeanor, and makes a mental note to get either Bruce or Tim to find out what the hell happened. 

“Well, it’s getting late, so let’s get you back to your room. Do you want to stop by the kitchen to get anything because you missed dinner?” Marinette smiles brightly at him and Jason wonders if he can whiplash from how swiftly her moods change. 

“Yes! I’m starving and rather thirsty. Sorry I slept through dinner.” Jason grins down at her and ruffles her hair. 

“That’s okay, Pixie. From what you told me, you needed it.” She giggles and swats at his hand as she follows him to the kitchen. After grabbing a mug of some kind of tea (peppermint chamomile? Jason doesn’t pay attention to that shit. Nor does he drink it) and a small plate of cookies, he leads her back to her room. When she enters, she cautiously scans the shadows before shutting the door softly behind her. 

_ What the hell happened to Pixie when she was in Paris? _

**Meanwhile is the Batcave…**

Tim lounges in his chair, fiddling with his NintendoSwitch. Sure, he should be paying attention to the crime in Gotham and not playing Animal Crossing but he can multitask. It’s not like anyone was here to tell him not to, anyway. 

That is, until Jason barges loudly (when does he ever do things quietly?) in when he was focusing on a particularly hard level that  _ he just cannot pass _ , causing Tim to drop his Switch and die for the umpteenth time in the past hour. 

“Jesus fucking Christ, Jason! Just when I was this close,” he holds up his hand with his forefinger and thumb a centimeter apart, “ _ this close _ to beating it!”

Jason rolls his eyes. “Don’t get your panties in a twist or anything. Besides, Pixie is more important than your game at the moment.”

“What about Miss. Marinette?” Alfred appears right besides Jason, who lets out a surprised yell. 

“Alfred! How many times do I have to tell you not to do that! One day you're going to kill one of us with your appearing out of nowhere shit.” Alfred blinks slowly. 

“Not if you all kill me first with your idiocy. And now, you owe $10 to the swear jar.” Jason huffs. “Again, what happened to Miss. Marinette?”

“She ran into the training room about forty-five minutes ago as if something or  _ someone _ was chasing her. We talked for a while and she said something that concerns me quite a bit. When I pointed out that she wasn’t wearing any of her braces, she merely shrugged it off and said that she’s been through worse.” Tim drops his NintendoSwitch again and spins back to the Cave’s computer, typing furiously. Alfred, again, has disappeared without a trace, probably going to check on Marinette. 

With a couple of more minutes of typing and clicking, Tim legs out a small noise of distress. “It says here in the PPD’s files that there’s been several missing persons’ reports at the very start of the year, but she was found a week after they were filed in the outskirts of Paris. It says here that she was around with several major injuries including a concussion, her whole arm and hand broken in several places and her left leg completely broken from the knee down. She also had three cracked ribs and bad bruising.” A couple of more clicks. “It also states that she was found by her former friend and classmate Adrian Agreste.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now, who wants to skin a cat? Leave a comment and I’ll tell you when and where ;)) but doesn’t PPD stand for ‘Paris Police Department’? I’m pretty sure it does but if not oh well ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯


	7. Tears in My Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette makes a jacket for Jay after having a mental breakdown and Gabriel thinks twice about his decisions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did finish chapter 8 lol but I have the whole weekend cause this is (maybe) the last chapter for the WEEK. When summer starts, I will not be posting regularly like now because I have no idea what’s happening and can someone give me advice and/or suggestions for getting my first job?

Marinette waits until the door shuts all the way before bursting into tears. She sets the cookies and tea onto her desk and throws herself onto the chair in front of it. Her head falls back with her eyes closed as the sobs overtake her body. 

“Bug? Why are you crying?” Plagg flies out from where he slept and lands on the desk in front of her. The Guardian opens her eyes, staring at nothing. 

“I think because I’m actually able to feel about what happened back in January, about what happened in August without the constant fear of getting akumatized.” She squeezes her eyes shut. “It’s just... everything feels to be crashing down. Without Adr-Adrian to hold back Lila, she took things way too far, causing me to move. But I  _ want _ to be in Paris. It’s my home.” 

Tikki sets herself down next to her counterpart and says sadly, “Paris isn’t your home, Mari. It hasn't been for a long time, and I think you know that.” Yes she does, but that doesn’t mean she has to admit it. 

The tears cascading down her face slow and after a few minutes, stops. Marinette continues to sit there, looking up, long after the flow ceases. Eventually, she looks at where the kwami’s lay and finds both of them cuddled up together and half the cookies gone. A small smile stretches over her face and she wishes. Wishes that she’d be able to do that with someone that loved her for who she is, and not that facade she puts up in public. 

The bluenette opens her sketchbook and starts drawing a jacket for Jason. The room is filled with the sound of the pencil scratching against the paper and the soft hums that escapes Marinette’s throat. When the design is complete, she goes to one of her suitcases to get the fabric needed for the jacket. Thanking her luck that she packed several yards of brown faux leather for experimenting, she also grabs thin dark red cotton for the interior.

The hours go by, and Marinette continues to cut, pin and sew the jacket piece by piece. By 8:00, she’s almost done when Alfred knocks on the door. 

“Come in!” She calls, her mouth filled with pins as she adds the finishing details onto the article of clothing. The butler opens the door. “Breakfast will be ready in a half hour.” He looks at the lump of drown in her lap. “What’s that?” She ties off the thread, finishing and holding it up to Alfred.

“I made a jacket for Jason! I woke up at two-ish this morning and got lost, so he helped me get back to my room. After he left, I couldn’t go back to sleep, so I took some faux leather I brought for practice and made him this. I’m pretty sure I got his measurements correct…” her teeth worry her bottom lip and her eyes turn from the jacket to Alfred standing in the doorway. “Do you think he’ll like it?” He unfreezes and smiles down at her. 

“Of course, Miss. Marinette. Master Jason would love it.”  _ If he knows what’s good for him.  _ After what Jason found out this morning, Alfred did some of his own research. And now he wants to skin a certain cat, preferably alive, but is unable to because he seems to have vanished back in August. Someone must’ve beat him to it and that somewhat irks him. 

Marinette smiles up at him, relieved at the statement. When he turns to leave, she calls out from cleaning up the discarded supplies, “can you wait a second while I clean up? I’d like to get downstairs before Jason and also help make breakfast.”

Alfred turns back. “You don’t have to help, Miss. Marinette. I can do breakfast myself. Besides, you need to rest.” She laughs. 

“I think I got more rest last night than I got in the past  _ month _ . 12 hours straight? That’s completely unheard of. I have so much energy that I don’t think I have to make my morning energy concoction, and not have to sleep until next week.” She tosses all the trash into the can underneath her desk and stands. “Okay. To the kitchen!” 

Alfred smiles at her enthusiasm and leads her to the kitchen. She trails behind him, gazing at all the art and statues that litter the halls. “Why isn’t there anything on the stairs?” He half turns towards her as he answers. 

“I’ve learned a long time ago not to leave  _ anything  _ sitting on the steps. You’d never know what could happen in this household. Once, Miss. Stephanie and Master Dick got the idea to slide down the steps on a mattress. Another time, Master Tim fell asleep while climbing the steps and broke a priceless vase.” He shrugs. “So now, I try to keep expensive things off the floor. Unless it’s in a room.” He smiles wryly over his shoulder. “So welcome, Miss. Marinette, to the Wayne Manor, where all of its residents are slightly insane and a lot chaotic.”

**Meanwhile in Paris…**

Gabriel stares at the painting in his office, wondering what the fuck he did wrong. His wife is in a magically induced coma with only one known way to get her out and it’s damn hard to get it, his son’s been missing for a month and a half and there’s no lead to where he is, his assistant and fellow villain is sick from the magic that put his wife under, and finally, his son’s classmate that he’s been trying to akumatize for  _ years _ moved out of Paris and to the states. 

He finds himself thinking, and not for the first time, that maybe he should just give up. Chat Noir disappeared around the same time his son did- did he take Adrian?- and Ladybug only comes out to fight and purify the akuma’s he’s sent, along with three other miraculous holders - Yellow Jacket, Firedrake, and King Cobra. With the four of them, the fights are always short, not giving him any openings that he can use against them. 

So now, he stands in his office, watching as his life starts to crumble around him. He stands there, pretending that he doesn’t see the wreckage his decisions have made. He stands there, wondering if he’s already lost the war he’s started, and he just can’t see it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What is this? Gabriel actually thinking about his actions and noticing his son isn’t in the manor (probably because he hasn’t been doing photo shoots)? Eh he can burn in hell. Comments (And kudos) very much appreciated!


	8. Approval of the Many

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette gives the jacket to a starving Jason and Sabine plots some more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay another chapter! Okay- but my friends gave me a box of manga (yes I’m a nerd. Fight me) called Tokyo Mew Mew and it’s so CUTE.
> 
> Moving on the forecast for this chapter is light angst, hugs, trolling and a bit of ranting.

Making breakfast with Alfred was actually kinda fun. Marinette’s first impression of the older man was that he’s very serious (which he is) and is not likely to go along with a joke and mess around. But he is. 

Throughout the whole process, he tells stories about who did what in the kitchen and trolls the heck out of them. Apparently, Stephanie decided that she wanted to make wine because they ran out of her favorite kind at the store and threw a whole bag of grapes into a pot and tried to boil it. For twelve hours. Which caused her to be banned from both the stove and the microwave just in case she decided to do it the ‘faster’ way. 

And apparently, right before Marinette came to the Manor, Jason microwaved an egg. Then he proceeded to move on with his day without cleaning up the massive mess he made. 

And Tim… the only thing he’s allowed to  _ touch _ that involves electricity is his coffee maker. 

With these endless stories about the utter stupidity of the Wayne family, the time flies as well does the preparation for the meal. In no time, there’s pancakes, waffles, eggs, sausage, bacon and cereal set up in their appropriate places and the now awake residents (except for Tim. He’s still a walking zombie) crawl from their beds, attracted to the smell of food like moths to light. 

But then Jason slams open the door. “Alfred! You will not believe what me and Replacement found last nig-” He freezes when he sees Marinette happily munching on food and talking to Barbara, but turns her attention to him when he made such a dramatic entrance. 

_ What happened to the tense and PTSD ridden girl that ran into him not even six hours ago _ ?

“What did you discover, Master Jason?” Alfred asks from his seat next to Bruce. 

“I-” His mind races, trying to think of something else. Ah ha! “Little Pixie Stick here is now officially dubbed ‘Sunshine of Gotham’ on Twitter. Somebody saw you picking her up at the airport and posted about it and now everyone’s wondering if Bruce's adopting another kid.” Bruce makes a small sound of protest and Stephanie laughs. 

“Everybody knows that’s true. You can tell she’s the literal embodiment of Sunshine by just looking at her! Mari- you're here for not even twenty-four hours and you’ve already made a name for yourself. I think you broke Dick’s record; it took the Gothamites  _ three _ days to warm up to him.” Dick side eyes her as she leaves the room to get more waffles and grumbles into his bowl of cereal. The Sunshine of Gotham herself blushes from everyone’s stare until she remembers something. 

“Oh! Jason, I made you a little something for helping me out last night. As a thank you.” She reaches besides her and holds out the jacket. 

His eyes widen as he walks around the table to take the gift. He unfolds it and stares at it in silence. After a few moments he  _ squeals _ and picks Marinette up into one of the biggest hugs that she’s ever been in (it can easily rival her father’s). And when Steph walks into the room and sees the hug, she promptly places her waffles on the table and flips herself at Jason and Mari. 

“I have no idea why we’re hugging, but Imma just join in!” Jason rolls his eyes and finally lets go of Marinette and Stephanie pouts about how no one wants hugs in the morning which Damian quickly retorts with, “no, Brown, get it right. No one would want to be  _ around _ you in the morning,” and she pouts even more. Marinette frowns. 

“Damian! That wasn’t nice. How would you like to be put down for the way you are?” Damian opens his mouth but she cuts him off. “Like what in the world are you wearing?! That shade of yellow does  _ not _ look good on you, it just makes you look sickly. And why are you so uptight and bitchy al, the time? I’d rather be around Stephanie any time of the day than with you. No one likes a snob.” She suddenly stops ranting and turns to the woman she’s defending who’s staring at her with her mouth ajar. “I like your enthusiasm. It’s been a while since someone’s hugged me with that much excitement.” Stephanie snaps her jaw shut and luges at Marinette to embrace her tightly. 

Tim snorts. “Damn, she really put you in your place halls fast, Demon Spawn.” Marinette pulls out of Steph’s hug and winces sheepishly. 

“Sorry about that. I just get a bit… defensive when someone puts down another for being the way they are. No one should go through that.”

“It’s fine.” Damian grimaces. “I guess I sorta deserved the lecture.” Jason interrupts the staring contest between the two teenagers. 

“Now as much as it’s amusing to watch Demon get knocked down from his high horse, can we continue eating? I’m starving.”

**Meanwhile in Paris…**

Sabine Cheng plans. 

Every hour of the day, even when she’s sleeping, she plots every aspect of the downfall of her daughter’s tormentors. 

During the search for any sort of evidence in Marinette’s sparsely decorated room- oh how she missed her little Mari- she hits the jackpot. Hidden underneath some sewing supplies in one of her desk drawers is five and a half notebooks  _ filled _ from cover to cover of lies and assaults, dating back from the past five years. When she has the time, the mother reads through what happened, completely baffled at the tales this… this psychopath made up and everyone actually believed her. But what seriously irks her is that not only did the school do absolutely  _ nothing _ , they gave Marinette impossible responsibilities and expected her daughter to set a good example to her fellow students. The child was practically doing the teacher’s job for her!

She pushes the feeling down, not wanting to be akumatized from what is written within these books. God only knows how long that liar’s been working with Hawkmoth and Sabine doesn’t want to be part of their plan to retrieve Paris’s defenders Miraculous. That’s the last thing she needs at the moment. 

Now, what did Marinette say Jaggad’s number was? Because he’s the first call on a list of many and he’s most likely able to help Sabine get in contact with every other celebrity that’s been lied to. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have one concern about the comment section of the fic- YALL ARE CLOSE TO PREDICTING WHAT HAPPENED DAMMIT. I though it was being sneaky but I guess I’m predictable :’(


	9. Uniformed Practices

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette gets a uniform, but then has to go the Paris for an akuma and Damian plans to find out what the fuck is going on in Paris.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 9! Yay! I’m having a baking comparison with my neighbor and I still haven’t baked anything yet XD but the dough had to spill overnight so it’s not my fault... Anyway, does anyone have any good games that I could download on the phone (stuff I can play offline)? I have three games and I wanna get more but I have no idea what to get.

“So, Marinette.” All chatter stops when Bruce starts to talk. “It was part of our agreement that you’ll be continuing your education here at Gotham Academy.”

“Ah, yes. Was there any problems transferring my papers? Is it too late in the year to transfer? Oh no, it is, isn’t-” Bruce cuts her off.

“Of course not. It’s just… are you  _ completely sure  _ you wish to return to school? With what happened previously, it’s alright if you don’t want to return to a campus. I’m sure we can arrange online courses.”

No, no! It’s okay. Besides I’m in a completely different country, so what can possibly go wrong?” Everyone seems to groan collectively, but it’s Cassie that speaks what’s on all their minds. 

“Everything.”

**(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:・ﾟ✧**

“What. Is. This. We have to wear uniforms?!” Marinette glances between where Alfred and Damian are standing and the small stack of uniforms on the couch. “Am I at least able to make adjustments to the, so they fit better?”

“I don’t see why not, Miss. Marinette. As long as you don’t change the appearance in any way. This is one of the anti-bullying repellents that they have at this school. Since bullying is completely unacceptable, Master Bruce and I feel as if you’ll feel more safe to attend. Plus, having a familiar face also attending might help.” He gestures to where Damian stands besides him. 

“Okay… I have today and today only to make adjustments. Oh!” She turns back to Alfred. “What time should I wake up?” Damian answers this time. 

“School starts at 7:30, so Alfred would wake us both up at six.” Marinette nods, thinking. 

“That’s more than enough time! I’ll probably have to set a couple of alarms for different things… American schools start so  _ early _ , dang…” She slowly starts to walk back to her bedroom with the uniforms stacked on her arm, when her phone pings. She pulls it out and looks down at the notification. “Merde!” She quickly turns back and calls out, “thanks for your help! I’ve gotta go now.” She spins and full out sprints to her room with both Damian and Alfred staring after her in confusion.

* * *

“Tikki, we have a problem! There’s an akuma in Paris and I don’t have a cat! Oh no, what am I going to do?” The kwami sets herself in front of Marinette.

“Marinette, don’t worry! Remember, you planned for this already; use Mullo to split and then merge me, Plagg, Trixx and Kaalki with one of your duplicates.” The bluenette’s breakdown halts when she hears the plan, and she retrieved the Miraculous from the Miracle Box. She places Mullo’s necklace around her neck, replacing the one she already had on there, and quickly recites the plan to the small mouse like kwami. Then, she calls out the transformation phrase and immediately follows it with the set of words that activates her powers. She takes Plagg’s ring from her necklace and hands it over to one of her forms and proceeds to do the same with Kaalki’s glasses and Trixx’s necklace. 

One by one, each replica of Marinette merges each miraculous. Red Mouse pulls her flute from where it’s strapped on her back and disguises Bug Mouse and Mouse Noir to look like Ladybug and Chat Noir. Mare opens a portal and all four heroines cross over the blue disk of light and into the chaos of Paris. 

**Meanwhile in the Batcave…**

Damian swiftly enters the cave with his siblings trailing behind him. After checking that neither Alfred or his father followed them, he begins to speak. 

“So I went with Alfred to give Marinette her uniforms and learned some new information on what happened over in Paris. Drake, you might want to add this to your file on her.” Tim sputters from his seat in front of the Batcomputer.

“How-? How did you find it? I put a whole bunch of firewalls preventing anyone from accidentally stumbling upon it.” Damian rolls his eyes. 

“Anyone with mediocre hacking skills would be able to find that file, Drake. It’s like you didn’t try to prevent anyone from finding it.” Jason speaks up, annoyed. 

“Besides Replacement’s horrible hacking skills, what did you find out about Pixie?” Damian looks around to confirm that they’re alone and everyone’s attention is on him before he starts speaking. 

“She’s been bullied. And from the way Alfred was assuring her that GA doesn’t tolerate bullying, it was bad. And from what I gathered from that exchange, the school’s corrupt. GPD corrupt; maybe even worse.”

“Damn.” Dick sits up from where he lays on the floor. “How in the world is she still the embodiment of sunshine?” Damian nods. 

“Exactly. Something’s happening in Paris. Something horrible. And I plan to find out what.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OoOooO what will Damian do to find out what happened? Will he ask? Will he sneak? Will he find a pet outside of the Manor and play with it instead? Stay tuned to find out! (I will write for comments and kudos lol)


	10. The Song of Silence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette goes to Paris to defeat the Akuma, and the girl Akumatized becomes a main character.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter... is angst. That’s it. That’s the chapter. Anywayyy~ unfortunate news, my dudes. Since today is my last day of ‘school’ I have no clue when the next update is going to be, but I will continue to write!! It might be once a week, it might not. I have no idea. So please know, I am NOT abandoning this fic. I love it to much.

When Marinette steps out of the portal, Paris is quiet. To quiet. She stalks the streets, looking for the akuma that caused this unnatural silence that blankets the usually loud city. 

She passes Master Fu’s old massage parlor. She passes her parents bakery. And shortly after passing the bakery, she arrives at the school that causes the most of the previous akuma’s. Her old school. 

In front of the building, students gesture wildly at another, talking but no sound escape from their open mouths.  _ Definitely a silencing akuma. _ But then she notices other students walking with their hands in front of their bodies, some tripping over minuscule things they could easily sidestep or another student guiding them around. The only sound comes from the handful of students shouting that they can’t hear anything that the other people are says- that is if they can talk. 

_ Okay… this is different.  _

The group of heroes make their way to the next akuma hotspot; The Eiffel Tower. The trip doesn’t take long and doesn’t come out as a fruitful attempt because hunched over and sitting on a ledge, is a brightly colored girl. 

Ladybug softly lands besides her, studying the akuma. The girl’s vivid red hair is pulled up into a long ponytail, and is clothed in a turquoise and dark purple trench coat with light brown pants and black boots. When the girl doesn’t respond, she lets out a small “hey”. 

The akuma looks up at the red and black clad hero. Stark against her pale skin is a black  _ x _ wrapped around the lower part of her face and pale violet eyes. 

_ Please. _

Ladybug jolts at the unfamiliar voice in her head, but calms when she notices that it’s the akuma’s way of speaking. “Please what? What’s your name?”

_ Claris- _ she flinches and tears form in her eyes-  _ Mutinizer. Please, Ladybug. Make it stop. Stop the pain this power brings upon both me and Paris.  _ She turns her gaze from Ladybug to the city below.  _ I never wanted this power. He forced me to comply because I cannot speak up for myself.  _ Mutinizer grabs the wooden staff next to her and presents it to Ladybug.  _ Please make the pain stop. _ She bows her head, waiting.

The heroine regards the girl, studying her for any traps and takes her staff when she concludes that she’s being genuine.

Mouse Noir steps up from behind Ladybug and calls for her cataclysm to destroy the object. When she grazes her fingertips across the staff, it disintegrates into dust that slips through her fingers. From the ashes emerges a black butterfly that is quickly caught by Ladybug and purified. 

In the place where the akuma previously kneeled is a girl with red hair, about the same age as Marinette. The heroine crouches down and lays a hand on her shoulder. 

“Do you want to talk about it? I didn't use my Luck Charm, so I have time.” The red head nods vigorously and tears start to spill down her cheeks. She begins to sign her story, hoping that the bug themed hero would understand. 

_ I recently moved here from London and transferred to a school called College Frances DuPont.  _ Realization dawns upon the bluenette and she already knows where this is going.  _ The only spot they had available was in Ms. Bustier’s class because a student recently transferred to America.  _ She pauses briefly before continuing.  _ When everyone noticed that I only speak through sign language, I was approached by a girl named Lila Rossi. She told me she remembers talking to me at a deaf convention back in London and when I wrote down that I’m not deaf and neither is she, so why was she there? She was confused and then said that she has tinnitus in her right ear, but I know that’s not true. Tinnitus is a medical condition, not deafness, so when I pointed this out, she started crying and everyone banged up on me. _

_ Later, I found out that the girl that transferred to America was named Marinette Dupain- Cheng and I was star struck.  _ She turns to Ladybug.  _ Did you know she was able to convince Clara Nightingale, Jagged Stone, and Audrey Bourgeois to donate money to studies that help people like me?  _ Yes, Ladybug knows but she still shakes her head no.  _ Yes, she did. She’s done many things for charities like that. So why do they all hate her? From what I gather, it’s because she knew that Lila was a liar. _

Marinette blinks at the mute girl, surprised. Apparently, everyone thought that she was dead so they didn’t sensor what they say in front of her. They even insulted her right to her face, which caused this akumatization. Dazly, she drops the girl off at the school and makes her way back to the place that Mare previously opened the portal. The glowing disk was already waiting for her, so she immediately stepped through, and into her room at the Manor.

When she unmerges all the miraculous, leaving her with just the mouse, she drops her transformation. 

“Tikki, that class is bullying a  _ mute _ student. This is starting to get bad. Really bad.” When her kwami- or any of the kwami- doesn’t answer, she turns around in confusion.

In her desk chair sit the one and only Jason Todd with a mouthful of cookies nearly falling out of his gaping mouth. “And this isn’t good either.”

**Meanwhile in Paris…**

Clarissa Harper slowly walks back to class, bracing herself to the hell to come. She opens the old, heavy door and steps into her classroom, only to find it empty. 

_...What? _

Now that she thinks about it, the courtyard and halls were also vacant following her akumatization.  _ Where was everyone? _ Ignoring the fact that no one- not even the teacher- is in the room, she still sits in her seat in the back-  _ the same seat Marinette sat in! _ \- and pulls out the assignment they were working on before she turned. 

Halfway through the worksheet on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, the door opens to reveal a very smug Lila Rossi. 

“I thought I might find you in here. Whenever there’s an attack, school’s cut short.” Clarissa watch’s Lila’s slow approach to her desk. “But that’s not why I’m here.” Suddenly, she slams her hands down on the girl’s desk and sneers down at her. “You know that I’m lying. But you can’t do anything about it. If you try to expose me like  _ Marinette _ ,” she spits out the name like it tastes foul, “you’ll end up just like her. Bruised, broken and  _ gone _ .” The brunette leans in to whisper the last word into the other girl’s ear. “Then again, it’s not like you can say anything. All you got is your hands, but oh no, what would happen if an accident occurs and you just cannot use them? Now that would be a shame, wouldn’t it?” She turns sharply from the table and sashays down the steps. “So I suggest you keep silent or some unfortunate things are going to happen.” She cackles maniacally at her own sick joke as she walks out of the classroom. 

_ Is this what she did to Marinette for the last five years? How did she do it? How did she survive? _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope y’all enjoyed this chapter, because regular updates are now CANCELLED. Clarissa will actually become an important part of this story, so expect to see more of her in the future. 
> 
> Also- Jason, why are you eating Tikki’s cookies?! And did Lila just threaten to make Clarissa’s hands not work anymore?! What?!
> 
> And the worksheet came from me working on Romeo and Juliet during this whole quarantine for English. It was hard, lemme tell you.


	11. Chapter 11: How the Cookie Crumbles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jason’s cookie gets stolen and we meet Clarissa’s family ;)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG GUYS IM SO SORRYYYYY. It’s been, what 6 monTHS?? Um,,, so yeah I’m no dead,,,,
> 
> ,,,yet,,,

Marinette ventures farther into her room, briefly ignoring the baffled man sitting at her desk. She removes the glasses perched on her nose and places it back into the Miracle Box, and then does the same for the rest of the miraculi she used during the battle. 

When the priceless jewels are safely inside of the box, she spins to face Jason. 

"So why exactly are you in my room?" She glances down at the cookies in his hand and in his open mouth. "Other than to eat my cookies, that is." Jason's eyes widen slightly as her flat tone and rushes to swallow the mouthful of cookie to answer. 

"Ah, well... I was wondering if you were alright after last night and... Uh... If you wanted to talk about it." He tugs at the collar of the jacket the bluenette gave him earlier. "Besides, you're not the only one with skeletons in the closet inside this house. Shit happened to all of us, some worse than others." Marinette's frown deepens and she regards the slightly nervous man with a certain curiosity. 

"I'm not going to touch what you just said about skeletons in the closet and how all of you have them. Everyone has skeletons. I just have more than most. A lot more." 

_ A white grin against the blackness of the night.  _

_ "I guess one could say that I hit two bugs with one stone. Who knew our everyday Ladybug was Paris's heroine. Oh wait, I did. It only makes it easier for me to punish you for your wrongdoings; in  _ and _ out of costume."  _

"As for talking about what happened?" Marinette lets out a harsh laugh. "No one else should have to sit through that insanity. It's not like you'll believe it, anyway. No one remotely knew what was happening, either because they didn't care or they're absolutely blind. And because of that, no one would have to care." She shrugs her dainty shoulders. "I guess it's just another secret I'll have to keep until I die."

Jason anxiously shoves another cookie into his mouth, slowly processing what Marinette just told him. 

_ How is it that both of the youngest in this house have been through hell and back in less than nineteen years? _

He stuffs two more cookies into his mouth in horror. Sure, he died for Christ's sake, but together, Marinette and Damian's personal hell called life really takes the cake.  _ Ooh, cake sounds really good right now _ ... He snatches a third from the plate right before Marinette takes the plate away. Jason looks up at her glaring eyes, confused on why she took the cookies from him. 

"And stop eating Tikki's cookies. She's not happy as it is because you now know my identity, but she'll be even more pissed off when she finds out some asshole decided to stress eat after I told him that I've been through some serious shit and no one knows about it." She places the plate of cookies on top of her dresser, and then leans against it with her arms folded across her chest. 

"You cannot, under  _ any _ circumstances, tell anyone about me being a superhero. If you do, you'll not only have an entire arsenal of gods after your ass, you'll be risking my life. I've almost died countless times because my partner found out my identity. And if I die, the world ends. Literally." 

Jason blinks, unable to process what she just told him. "Wait. What you're saying is that you're a superheroine whose partner tried to kill multiple times, but cannot because the world will end?" She nods solemnly. "Why would the world end?" 

"I'm the current guardian of the Miraculi. Miraculous are supernatural weapons based off of ideas and emotions such as teleportation, creation, deception and destruction. Because I'm to guard these magic jewels, my life force became tied with their containment box, making me age as slowly as needed for me to find someone to pass the guardianship to. If I die before I find someone to pass it to, the kwami will run free to do as they wish, and that cannot happen." She takes a deep breath before continuing. "The previous guardian lived up to be almost two hundred years old before Hawkmoth forced him to relinquish his guardianship to me mid battle. This was almost five years ago." 

A grin starts to stretch across Jason's face. "So basically, you're a badass immortal guardian who can't die, or tiny gods will run lose and destroy the world." Marinette huffs out a small laugh. 

"Yeah, that basically sums it up." Suddenly Jason's grin disappears. 

"Hold on; so when your partner found out my identity, he tried to kill you? Why on Earth would he do that?" Marinette's silent for a moment, trying to debate whether she should tell him or not.

_ One day, you'll see that we're destined for each other forever, Bugaboo. Even if I have to force you to.  _

"That... Is a story for another day. I don't think I'm ready to unload my emotional baggage onto a guy I've met not even two days ago." She arches a brow. "And I know for a fact that as soon as I tell you something, you'll go tell your brothers. Maybe even Bruce. I'm already trusting you not to tell everyone about me being a hero, so I think that's more than enough right now." Jason slumps slightly in his seat, disappointed she didn't tell what's been haunting her, but when looks into his eyes she sees a gleam of understandment. 

"Well, I guess I get why you won't tell me. But everyone in this house has been through some shit before we met Bruce. For some of us, it's still going on. I just hope that you'll trust us enough to tell us what happened while you were living in Paris. Just don't hold it in. That's just going to make it worse, and it's going to drag you to the ground until you get it off your shoulders. Trust me; I should know." He stands from the rolling chair to leave her bedroom- though not before snagging a final cookie. As soon as he opens the door and steps out, a blur or dark green and khaki runs by, filching Jason's cookie as they pass. 

"What the fuck, man? That was my cookie!" He chases after the retreated figure, not bothering to close the door behind him.

Marinette blinks at the now empty doorway, completely confused on what just happened. 

"I hope you know that he owes me cookies, Marinette." She wrenches her eyes from the hall to her furious kwami. " And I want the best of the best, not some crappy stuff from Wal-Mart."

"I'll be sure to tell him. After he's done trying to get back his stolen cookie, though." 

**Meanwhile in Paris...**

Clarissa silently enters the townhouse she and her father moved into two weeks ago, hoping her father to be home.

As she enters the slightly messy kitchen, she hears both him and her uncle talking upstairs in the office. Clary eagerly drops her bag onto the counter, nearly upsetting a mug of cold coffee and immediately dashes upstairs. 

At the end of the hall, the office door stands slightly ajar and she quickly crosses the distance between her and the door. She slides through the crack and stands behind her father, smiling pleasantly down at her uncle. 

"I'm almost finished the mission over here in- Oh hey, Little Red! Leighanne told me to tell you to call her the next time I see you." Clarissa's father turns around and nearly falls from his chair when he sees her lurking behind him. 

"Clary! How many times do I have to tell you not to do that!" He places a hand over his heart. " One day, you're going to give me a heart attack. I know you don't want to speak, but at least make some kind of noise to let me know you're behind me."

Clarissa rolls her eyes and signs, 'yeah, I'll do that and you'll still get scared when you turn around and see me. I didn't know I was  _ that _ ugly.' Her father sulks while her Uncle laughs from the computer. 

"That, Red, was a good one! Also, Roy told me that Bruce has another one. Black hair, blue eyes, everything! Where in the world does he get these people from?!" All three of them laugh together at the ongoing joke about Bruce and adopting children. "Anyway. Back to your guys mission over in Paris. How's that going?"

“We've been here for almost two weeks now, and nothing unusual happened until this afternoon." He turns to his daughter. "Is that the reason you're home early?" She nods and he turns back to the computer. "I was able to get Clary in the class that apparently is the most affected by this magical terrorist. Everyone has been... Akumatized except Marinette Dupain-Cheng, who used to be the class president until she moved away. She, herself, personally knows a lot of celebrities and is famous around here. Back in January, she was kidnapped by an unknown culprit. And this directly leads to our next person-"

Will cuts him off. "Marinette Dupain-Cheng? I think that's the girl that Jason said moved in with them." Clary hides her excitement beneath a face of pure curiosity. 

"Huh. Interesting. The other kid is Adrien Agreste, son of fashion mongol Gabriel Agreste. He was homeschooled by his father until he was fourteen. He was also the one to find Marinette inside of an abandoned building that his father used for a collection about six years ago. And Adrien's been missing since August." Clary's father slumps back into his chair, his large body sending off waves of exhaustion. 

Her uncle frowns on the screen. "Be careful, Jim. I think you're dealing with far more than a magical terrorist. And it seems like all your problems start with that school. Specifically the class Clary's in." He turns to his niece, his blue eyes weary. "Clary, I want you to be careful. Every little thing is important; nothing is miniscule, especially with a class like yours? You've got to blend in and be observant." He glances off screen and nods. " Anyways, I've gotta get going. Remember to call Leighanne, she misses you guys. Bye!" He hangs up and Clarissa moves to stand in front of her father. She snaps her fingers a few times and when he looks up at her, she starts signing.

'Father, I have to tell you something. You know the akumatization that happened today?' He nods. 'That was me. I've been doing exactly what Uncle Will said, but this class... This class is seriously messed up. It seems like Lila Rossi is the cause of everything. It's as if she sets her sight on someone - specifically me at the moment; before it was Marinette- and the rest of the class bullies that person.' 

His eyebrows knit together, thinking of a solution. "You should play along for now. Find out what her motive is and what the hell is happening inside of that school." He scratches at the slight stubble on his chin. "Damn. Will was right. This whole situation is way more complicated than it seems. Clary, I want you to be cautious. That class is far more corrupt than it should be and I want you to find out why. That and why we weren't aware of this thing sooner. Things have been let go far too long and we're the only ones who can fix it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So chapter 12 will be up in a couple of days I promise!! Erm,,, but Haikyuu anyone???


	12. Chapter 12: Two Birds With One Stone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette runs and Tim is frustrated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 12 as promised!! It took me a bit longer to type this chapter up since I have more responsibilities both for school and out but at least this chapters here! Also: there’s two slight panic attacks in this chapter so imma update the tags. I just wanted y’all to know because some of you guys don’t like that stuff,,, so yeah

11:30 p.m.  _ Hold on... _

“Tikki. It only took me two hours to adjust all those uniforms?” The red kwami looks up from her newly filled plate of cookies.

“Good job, Marinette! Now you can actually sleep for your first day of school tomorrow.” Marinette snorts and Tikki side eyes her.

“You actually think that because I moved across the entire world that I’d  _ sleep _ ? Good one, Tikki. Really.” She sombers up. “No. It’s just… this is the first akuma since August and the… incident.” _ If I can’t have you, then no one can.  _ “What changed? Why now?”

Tikki looks sadly up at her holder. “You know I can’t answer that for you. Only the man himself can.” They sit in silence, both thinking the same thing. Tikki’s the one who voices the thought aloud. “Do you think it has anything with the new girl in your old class? That Hawkmoth found a new lackey?” 

“No. When she was akumatized, I knew she wasn’t working with him. Besides, she  _ begged _ me to get him to stop using her to get what he wants. Lila’s never done that, nor will she ever.” Marinette throws herself onto her bed, bouncing slightly. “And because of that, I cannot rest. That fucker  _ uses  _ people to get what he wants instead of coming and getting it himself. Fucking coward.”

“Do you think… going for a run will clear your head?” The bluenette sits up, leaning on her elbows for support, surprised at what her kwami’s referring to. “Really? You’d let me? I won’t use the Ladybug miraculous, of course, but…” She looks off into space for a minute, thinking of a miraculous she wants to use. “Maybe the cats?”

“Are you sure?” The guardian leans toward, and criss crosses her legs while fingering the ring one her necklace, nodding. “Fine, but you know the rule. Keep me and the earrings here so I can watch over the box while you're out with Plagg.” Tikki smiles softly at the sight of the ring that’s usually covered by Marinette’s shirt. “He needs to get out.”

Marinette unfastens her earrings and places them onto her comforter before pulling off the necklace and extracting the black and green ring from it. She hesitates, looking up at her red kwami, whose nodding encouragingly. The ring slips onto her finger with ease, the metal immediately warping to fit her finger. When the rings in place, a bright green orb circles her, fading slowly into a very annoyed Plagg.

“Took you long enough to get settled, Bug. Do you need me to cataclysm someone already” Marinette sputters out a laugh at his bluntness. 

“Uh, no. Something quite different, actually. I’m going for a run, and I can’t use the Tikki for obvious reasons, so I’ve decided to use you, if that’s alright.” He nods and she hands him a piece of Camembert before he can ask. “Can you also change up my costume? Lady Noirre has no purpose here, or anywhere else.” Plagg swallows the cheese in one bite before flying up to eye level with Marinette.

“Anything for you, Kitten.” Marinette smiles and calls out, “In that case, Plagg, Claws Out!”

Green light floods the room, momentarily blinding the other kwami. When it recedes, Marinette stands in its place clad in a dark navy top that ends right before her waist, and continues to fade into the darkest black, both separated with a glowing blue downwards arrow. On both of her thighs and calves are x’s in the same color. This unearthly blue separates her black gloves from her top and is wrapped around her ankles. Instead of one staff, she has two secured on either side of her thighs. Her hair was elongated, and was straightened and left down. A mask obscures the upper half of her face, and when she opens her eyes, they’ve changed into the palest cerulean with a slitted pupil. She grins deviously, her newly lengthened canines gleaming in the light.

“Aw  _ man _ . I feel so different from when I combine Plagg with the mouse!” Marinette exclaims, stretching out her arms in front of her.

“Of course! Then, you were only getting a part of Plagg’s energy because Mullo was your main source of energy. Now since you’re wearing just the ring, there’s no clash of energies.” She glances at the clock. “I think you should hurry up and leave now and come back in an hour or two.”

“Right.” She extracts one of the staffs from its thigh brace. “Ready or not, Gotham, Shadow Cat’s coming for you.” With that, she opens her window and jumps out into the night. 

**(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:・ﾟ✧**

Step, step, step. Leap and flip. 

The cool air of the city washes over Marinette as she starts her run through the city.

Step, step. Dodge.

It takes her a few minutes to get used to the unfamiliar territory and the remarkable size difference between the buildings surrounding her, but soon, she’s navigating the landscape as if she’s been doing it her whole life.

About fifteen minutes after she’s found the familiar rhythm of rooftop parkour, she hears the faint sound of light breathing and the slight scuffle of boots on concrete. Feeling as if she’s been doused in ice water in the middle of winter, she continues her run, paying attention to both her follower and surroundings, scoping out possible hiding places.

_ You should be more careful there, Bugaboo. Paris at night isn’t as safe as it is in the daytime. Make one wrong move and poof! You're gone with no one knowing where you went.  _

Her eyes dart around frantically, looking for sanctuary. The night suddenly seems a whole lot lighter when she spots a metal box-like structure several buildings down from where she is.

Marinette sighs in relief and makes her way down the street, keeping the same pace as before so the person following her doesn’t catch on that she knows that they’re there.

Within minutes, she finds herself on the building with the box. When she passes it, she slips behind the object and then climbs on top of it with a single leap. Her suit blends into the shadows, until she’s one herself.

Shortly after she blended into the darkness of Gotham, a figure appeared below, his eyes darting around him looking. Looking for  _ her. _

_ You know, bugaboo, you can’t hide stuff from me forever. I’ll find out who you are behind the mask. I’ll find out all your dirty little secrets. I’ll find  _ you.

Her heartbeat quickens and her breathing turns shallow when the man doesn’t continue his search. He slowly spins in a circle, gauging whether he should move on. He doesn’t. He lifts his hand up to his ear and speaks softly into the air. “Target stopped at the corner of Barkley and Dove. Wait for my call.” 

Her eyes widen in fear and she struggles to keep her breathing steady. Her follower slowly paces the rooftop, carefully peering into the shadows.  _ Looking for her _ . 

“Why are you following me.” The man whirls around when she speaks, trying to pinpoint where Marinette is hiding. 

“Well, the last thing we need here in Gotham is a new villain with unknown abilities, so I was sent here to investigate.” Marinette raises a brow.

“And your partner.” He pauses, momentarily confused, but continues. “What about him?”

“Why can’t he show himself?” He doesn’t answer for a few seconds, as if listening to the other person. “They’re watching from afar. You don’t have to worry about them.” Marinette steps down from the box, but sticks to the shadows.  _ What do I do? Will someone notice my absence at the Manor? What will happen if I just run?  _ Millions of questions and scenarios run through her head but she’s only able to focus on the hero in front of her from sheer force and practice.

“How peculiar…” She trails off, unsure on what to do. “If I show myself to you, will you leave me alone? I don’t mean any harm to you or to the city; I just wanted to get out and… escape some of my problems.” Again, he’s silent for several heartbeats, listening to his partner on the other side of his ear piece. After a few minutes of silence, he responds. “Yes. But if you ever cause harm, we will deal with you.” Marinette sighs in relief and steps forward into the dim light. 

The hero takes a step back at the unearthly blue of her eyes and the tight coil of her posture. She tilts her head to the side, letting her silky black hair fall over her shoulder. She stands there for a few minutes, waiting for him to let her go, to let her  _ escape _ , from his gaze but nothing happens. She takes a hesitant step back, her breathing quickening and heart racing.

He takes a step forward in response to her small retreat and Marinette turns on her heels and sprints to the edge of the building and leaps into the shadows without hesitation.

**Meanwhile in the Batcave…**

Tim jerks up from his switch as the comm link starts to cackle.

“We were able to stop the unknown rooftop jumper,” Dick stops for a moment before continuing. “Buuuut they got away.”

“She.” Damian immediately corrects and Jason clicks his tongue. “Now, now, Demon Spawn. Don’t go assuming anyone’s gender.” There’s a lengthy pause before Tim decides to speak. “Description please and thank you.”

“She’s approximately five foot four and has long black hair. Her body type was petite and thin, but in shape. That’s all I deemed not included into her costume. That part had cat-like features such as her eyes, ears and tail.” Damian pauses. “Perhaps Selina’s finally found a protégée?” 

Tim’s fingers fly over the Batcave’s keyboard, searching for any matches to the description. Nothing, “Impossible!” He sputters out, leaning back into his chair and staring at the screen in disbelief.

“What’s impossible?” Dick asks, his voice filled with confusion. Tim tugs at his hair in frustration as he answers. “Simply nothing. I’ve got nothing.”

There’s another pause before Damian responds with a simple “what.” Time throws his hands up in the air. “Exactly! There’s no records of the girl you're looking for! She’s a ghost!” More silence.

Jason speaks up. “I think I know who it is.” Tim sits straight up in his chair, waiting for him to tell them. “But I can’t tell you. Any of you. I promised them I won’t tell anybody and that includes you guys.”

“Jason…” Bruce’s sighs over the link.

“Bruce. If I’m right on who I think this is, then we’re fine. They pose no threat to either Gotham or the world. More like the opposite, really. And no, I’m not gonna give any of your guys hints on their identity. You’ll have to find out for yourselves like I did.”

Tim slumps into his chair, both in disappointment and excitement. Disappointed that Jason’s gonna make them go through hell to find out this person's identity and more excited for the challenge it brings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you guys dm me on Wattpad to talk Haikyuu I definitely will not object. At all.
> 
> I’m probably gonna do fan art for this chapter (Shadow Cat) and post it on my Instagram (@HappGorl) so keep a look out for that!!


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